North America Distribution

Facts About

Lance-leaved licorice bedstraw gets its name from the lance-shaped leaves, rounded at the base, widest below the middle, and coming to a narrow point at the tip. The petals are also pointed at the tips.

Habitat

Forests, woodlands

Characteristics

Habitat

terrestrial

New England state

Connecticut

Maine

Massachusetts

New Hampshire

Rhode Island

Vermont

Flower petal color

blue to purple

yellow

Leaf type

the leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)

Leaf arrangement

whorled: there are three or more leaves per node along the stem

Leaf blade edges

the edge of the leaf blade is entire (has no teeth or lobes)

Flower symmetry

there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)

the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)

Petal folding in bud

the petals in bud meet exactly at the margins without overlapping (valvate)

Petal folds or pleats

the petals of the flower do not have folds or plaits

Petal hairs (Viola)

NA

Petal hairs on inner/upper surface

there are no hairs on the inner/upper petal surface

Petal length relative to sepals

NA

Petal tip shape

the petal tip is acuminate (tapers to a very narrow point)

Petal tips (Cuscuta)

NA

Raceme attachment (Veronica)

NA

Reproductive system

all the flowers have both carpels and stamens (synoecious)

Scales inside corolla

no

Sepal and petal color

NA

Sepal appearance

NA

Sepal appendages

the sepals do not have appendages on them

Sepal appendages (Oenothera)

NA

Sepal auricles

NA

Sepal cilia

NA

Sepal color

NA

Sepal features

NA

Sepal length

0 mm

Sepal number

0

Sepal orientation

NA

Sepal relative length

NA

Sepal shape

NA

Sepal texture

NA

Sepal tip shape

NA

Sepal uniformity

NA

Sepals fused only to sepals

NA

Stamen attachment

the stamens are not attached to the petals or tepals

Stamen number

3

4

Stamens fused

the stamens are not attached to one another

Staminodes

there are no staminodes on the flower

Umbel flower reproductive parts

NA

Upper lip of bilabiate corolla

NA

Fruits or seeds

Achene relative orientation

NA

Achene shape

NA

Achene surface (Polygonum)

NA

Achene type

NA

Berry color

NA

Capsule color (Viola)

NA

Capsule ribs

NA

Capsule splitting

NA

Fruit (pyxis) dehiscence

NA

Fruit beak length

0 mm

Fruit features (Brassicaceae)

NA

Fruit length

3–4 mm

Fruit locules

two

Fruit type (general)

the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe

Fruit type (specific)

the fruit is a schizocarp (when dry it splits into sections, each holding one or more seeds)

Fruit width

5–6 mm

Hair type on fruit

the hairs on the fruits are simple (not branched), don’t have glands, and are not woolly

Hairs on fruit

the fruits have hairs on them

Legumes (Fabaceae)

NA

Mericarp segment shape (Desmodium)

NA

Other markings on berry

NA

Ovary stipe

the ovary or fruit does not have a stipe

Placenta arrangement

the plant has axile placentation, in which the ovules are attached where the septa of a compound ovary are united, usually on the central axis, or to the septa themselves

Rows of seeds in fruit (Brassicaceae)

NA

Schizocarpic fruit compression

the fruit is not flattened

Schizocarpic fruit segments

2

Seed number

2

Septum in fruit (Brassicaceae)

NA

prickles on fruits

the fruits do not have thorn-like defensive structures

Glands or sap

Glands on leaf blade

the leaf blades do not have glandular dots or scales

Sap

the sap is clear and watery

Sap color

the sap is clear

Growth form

Growth form

the plant is an herb (it has self-supporting stems)

Lifespan

the plant lives more than two years

Parasitism

the plant is not parasitic

Plant color

the leaves or young stems of the plant are green

Plants darken when dry

no

Spines on plant

the plant has no spines

Underground organs

the plant has a rhizome (a horizontal underground stem with roots growing from it)

Leaves

Bracteole edges

NA

Bracteole length

0 mm

Bracteole number (Apiaceae)

0

Bracteole shape

NA

Bracteoles

there are no bracteoles on the plant

Bracts in plantain (Plantago)

NA

Final leaf segment length (compound lvs only)

0 mm

Final leaf segment length to width ratio (compound lvs only)

0

Final leaf segment width (compound lvs only)

0 mm

Hairs on underside of leaf

the underside of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy

Hooked hairs on underside of leaf

no

Inflated hairs on leaf

the leaf blade does not have inflated hairs on it

Leaf arrangement

whorled: there are three or more leaves per node along the stem

Leaf blade base symmetry

the leaf blade base is symmetrical

Leaf blade bloom

the underside of the leaf has no noticeable bloom

Leaf blade edges

the edge of the leaf blade is entire (has no teeth or lobes)

Leaf blade flatness

the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges

Leaf blade hairs

the leaf blade has simple hairs with no glands, and not tangled or wooly

Leaf blade length

30–80 mm

Leaf blade primary vein pattern

the major veins radiate out from one point at the base

Leaf blade shape

the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)

the leaf blade is lanceolate (lance-shaped; widest below the middle and tapering at both ends)

Leaf blade surface colors

the upper side of the leaf blade is relatively uniform in color

Leaf blade vein pattern

the major veins of the leaf blade branch, but do not rejoin

Leaf blade veins

the leaf blade has three or more main veins that start at or near the leaf blade base and run from the base towards the tip (it may or may not have secondary veins)

Leaf blade width

10–25 mm

Leaf duration

the leaves drop off in winter (or they whither but persist on the plant)

Leaf form

the leaves are green, with an expanded blade and a leaf-like texture

Leaf shiny

the upper side of the leaf is dull or slightly shiny

Leaf spines

there are no spines on the leaf edges

Leaf stalk

the leaves have leaf stalks

the leaves have no leaf stalks, but attach directly to the stem

Leaf stalk attachment to leaf

NA

the petiole attaches at the basal margin of the leaf blade

Leaf stalk base

NA

the petiole base is narrow where it attaches to the stem

Leaf teeth and lobes

the edge of the leaf blade is entire (has no teeth or lobes)

Leaf tip

the tip of the leaf blade is acuminate (tapers to a long, thin point)

the tip of the leaf blade is acute (sharply pointed)

Leaf type

the leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)

Leaf types

There is a gradual change in appearance of the leaves from the base (or near the base) of the plant to those from further up on the stem, with leaves progressively changing as one moves higher on the stem (often becoming shorter, or less toothed/lobed, and/or with shorter petioles).

Leaf variation

the leaves are nearly similar in size, prominence of teeth, and length of stalks throughout the stem

Leaflet number

0

Leaflet petiolules

NA

Leaves per node

there are four leaves per node along the stem

there are three leaves per node along the stem

there are two leaves per node along the stem

Pinnately compound leaf type

NA

Specific leaf type

the leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)

Stipels

NA

Stipule features

NA

Stipules

the plant has stipules

there are no stipules on the plant

Teeth per side of leaf blade

0

Place

Habitat

terrestrial

New England state

Connecticut

Maine

Massachusetts

New Hampshire

Rhode Island

Vermont

Specific habitat

forests

woodlands

Scent

Plant odor

the plant does not have much of a smell

Stem, shoot, branch

Branched tendrils

NA

Direction of stem hairs

NA

Flowering stem cross-section

the flowering stem is roughly square

Hair between stem nodes

the stem has no hairs between the nodes

Hairs between stem nodes

the stem has no hairs between the nodes

Hooked hairs on stem between nodes

no

Leaves on stem

there is at least one full leaf above the base of the flowering stem

Length of hairs between stem nodes

0 mm

Plant height

30–70 cm

Stem bloom

there is no powdery or waxy film on the stem

Stem hair distribution

NA

Stem nodes swollen

the stem is not swollen at the nodes

Stem orientation

the stems are upright or angled outwards

Stem roughness between nodes

the stem does not feel rough

Tendril origin

NA

Tendrils

the plant does not have tendrils

Wings on stem

the stem does not have wings on it

Wetland Status

Not classified

New England Distribution and Conservation Status

Distribution

Connecticut

present

Maine

present

Massachusetts

present

New Hampshire

present

Rhode Island

present

Vermont

present

Conservation Status

Exact status definitions can vary from state to
state. For details, please check with your state.

Massachusetts

unranked
(S-rank: SNR)

Native to North America?

Yes

Sometimes Confused With

leaf blades oval to elliptic, widest near the middle, blunt at the apex, and petals with hairs on the lower surface (vs. G. lanceolatum, with leaf blades elliptic to lanceolate, widest below the middle, pointed at the apex, and petals without hairs on the lower surface).